Germany prepare for WC qualifying

Germany complete their preparations for the start of their World Cup title defence with a home friendly against Finland before beginning qualifying for Russia 2018 in Norway.

The Finland game in Moenchengladbach on Wednesday will serve as a farewell match for long-serving midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who is to step down as captain and retire from the national team after 120 appearances.

"This will be a special evening for me," the 32-year-old Schweinsteiger said while coach Joachim Loew paid tribute to the service he had given his country in the 12 years since his debut in a 2004 friendly against Hungary.

"With Basti we are losing the captain and a key pillar of our team," coach Joachim Loew said.

"He will leave a gap behind him."

Loew has not yet announced who will replace Schweinsteiger as captain but keeper Manuel Neuer, midfielders Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos and Mesut Oezil, and forward Thomas Mueller are all hugely experienced players each with more than 60 caps to their name.

Another veteran, Lukas Podolski, was also supposed to be saying farewell against Finland but injury means this will happen later.

As older players step away from the squad, Loew faces the challenge of bringing in fresh blood to the team which defeated Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final but stumbled against hosts France in the Euro 2016 semis.